Why settle for a cat when you've got a panther?
by Kid Al
Summary: Many people think that Rin is the most cat-like member of µ's but she begs to differ. Sure, she loves cats and ends her sentences with 'nya' on occasion but she's adamant that the title belongs to someone else. / Alternatively: Rin alternates between thinking and bothering Maki one lazy evening.


Disclaimer: I own nothing.

:::

Rin loves cats – always has.

This love of hers began on a rainy day many years ago. Her mother still giggles at the memory of finding a four-year-old Rin being glued to the television, attention fixed on a documentary about panthers. Rin had been fussy the entire day about not being able to play with her friends, and her mother had finally resorted to using cartoons as a way to bribe the rambunctious child into calming down.

"Don't change the channel!" the little girl had cried out. "Please, mama!"

Her mother nearly dropped the remote control in surprise; she never would have thought that a child like Rin would be remotely interested in a wildlife documentary. All it took was for the girl to lay her eyes on the image of a baby panther and Rin was hooked. It was love at first sight.

Rin was five the first time she held a kitten.

She had been in the midst of a game of hide-and-seek when she spotted it: a cardboard box tucked away in a corner of the playground. The soft mewling had caught her attention, and she had abandoned all efforts in securing a good hiding spot once she saw the two young kittens hiding in the box. It took a while, but they eventually warmed up to her once she fed them the leftover sandwich she had with her. It went without saying that Rin lost at hide-and-seek that day, but she thought that she just might be the happiest kid around when she toddled home with the cardboard box in her arms.

The itchiness of her eyes didn't bother her, and neither did her stuffy nose. She insisted that the hives that cropped up was heat rash, choosing to slather calamine lotion all over herself. In spite of her discomfort, Rin continued to play with the kittens and care for them. Her parents, however, drew the line when Rin started wheezing. They decided that the kittens had to go. Rin was inconsolable when they surrendered the kittens to the neighbourhood shelter.

Rin cried for days.

Her parents had thought it was because of the allergic reaction Rin had but it was really because she had wanted to keep the kittens so badly. She would visit the shelter every day and spend hours meowing at the kitty cats in a bid to communicate with them. Sometimes, she would drag Kayo-chin along, and they would make up stories about their furry friends.

She wasn't exactly the studious type – her favourite subjects were P.E. and lunch, after all – but Rin lapped up all kinds of books about cats and the extended feline family over the years. Hanayo was the first to notice that her childhood friend had developed a verbal tic during their first year in middle school, and Rin has been trying (and failing) to kick the habit ever since. And to Rin's dismay, life got more hectic as time went by; she doesn't visit the shelter as often anymore but her love for cats never did waver.

Rin never really did get over not having a cat.

.

.

.

But Rin was in her third year of university now.

To be precise, she was seated on the living room's floor, watching the television on mute. Her hair was still damp from her shower, and her notes were in a haphazard pile by her side. Unlike her roommate, the last thing Rin wanted to do after the exhausting weekend was study. _Studying_ – the thought of it made Rin's nose crinkle. How could anyone _want_ to study?

"Man, I'm beat," Rin called out, stretching a little where she sat.

Rin pulled an exaggerated yawn, cracking an eye open to steal a glance of her flatmate. She hid a grin when she noticed that the girl at the dining table had paused for the briefest of moments.

"Aren't you tired, nya?" asked Rin. "You were giving your all in cheering Rin on, after all."

The silence that ensued made it seem like her ruse had failed but Rin knew better. Her roommate's lack of response was a response in itself. Rin knew she was listening.

And so, she cooed, "Maki-chan~"

 ** _"Will you be quiet?"_**

Ah. So there was that reaction that Rin had been waiting on this entire time. Fighting back snickers, Rin tried again:

"Why don't you take a break with Rin, nya? Just a short one, I promise!"

Maki rolled her eyes in response.

"No, thank you," said the med student. "I've been neglecting my work for the last couple of days, and I don't think I can put it off any longer."

That was Maki for you – forever working herself to the bone. That girl hasn't done anything much besides showering and hitting the books ever since they got back from the dinner with _µ_ 's. Rin sighed in defeat, spreading herself out into a more comfortable position. And yet, she couldn't let it go without a final jab.

"Maki-chan's no fun," she whined before sticking her tongue out at the redhead. Maki didn't grace her with a response, as was usual.

Rin shook her head though a smile still teased at her lips. Who would've thought that things would be this way? Rin certainly didn't. Her first 'real' encounter with the Nishikino girl had been far from ideal. Nishikino Maki was that aloof (some might even say standoffish) girl in her class back when they were in their first year of high school. And despite being rather socially awkward, the girl was brimming with self-confidence to the point where Rin might say that she was just a tad bit arrogant. The way Maki had asserted herself and taken Rin's dear Kayo-chin under her wing all of a sudden had rubbed Rin the wrong way and raised her hackles. In retrospect, it was really quite a wonder that they didn't end up injuring Hanayo when they had dragged the timid girl up to the school's roof that fateful day. Even Rin would have to admit that it was pretty rough handling – and this was coming from the girl who had grown up roping Hanayo into all of her shenanigans.

But they had both ended up joining _µ_ 's alongside Hanayo, hadn't they? And thank goodness that they did. There wasn't a single day that went by where Rin did not think of _µ_ 's. Man, she really did miss those times… It was really great that everyone managed to find some time off the last two days to come support her during the try-outs. Their presence really did motivate her to continue blazing down the tracks ( _"Fight-o da yo, Rin-chan!"_ ). Rin was satisfied with her timings and, with any luck, she would know if she made it into Japan's national track-and-field team in a couple months' time.

Chartreuse eyes stole a quick glance at the girl at the dining table. Nobody came close to cheering her on as hard as Maki did. Rin couldn't help but smirk. It was indeed an interesting sight to see the reserved girl before Rin put her pride on the shelf. Maki had been jumping up and down, waving to Rin every time the athlete took a breather, and calling out for her to fight on. It was kind of heart-warming, really. Who would've thought that Maki could be quite so amazing once she thawed out a little?

The sports science student was pulled out of her thoughts by a figure padding over to where she sat on the floor. Without so much as a word and with her nose still buried in her textbook, the Nishikino girl that Rin had just been thinking about wedged herself between Rin's arm and side. Rin shot her companion an amused look even though she was well aware that Maki would steadfastly avoid making eye contact. With a contented sigh, the athlete shifted herself a little so that her friend would be more comfortable. After all these years, even Rin knew better than to breathe a word lest the _tsundere_ shove her away again.

Things really have changed since high school began. Second year had started off really weirdly without the Nico, Nozomi and Eli around. There were a bunch of girls interested in joining the idol research club, too; sometimes, things got a little too overwhelming for the newly-minted second-year students. Practice was always fun but co-ordinating could be a disaster at times, Rin recalled. Rin was really proud of her Kayo-chin as the president of the club got bolder with time, truly growing into her role as a leader; she had to, of course, with someone like Maki as her vice-president. Maki, in turn, became less guarded. The girl was as strict as ever but she learned when to hold back once in a while – and Rin would glomp her in gratitude every time she did.

As for Rin… That year had been one heck of a roller coaster ride for the girl. She had thought she was over and done with growing when she was hit with a pretty serious growth spurt towards the end of the year (Rin now holds the title of being the tallest in _µ_ 's, beating Eli's 1.62m height by 2.5 centimetres). And with that growth spurt came bouts of unrestrained energy that threatened to have the already hyperactive girl going stir-crazy should she have to sit still for a period longer than thirty minutes. Even idol activities weren't enough of an avenue to exhaust that energy; Rin eventually ended up joining the school's track team on top of the idol research club. And all of a sudden, _'Rin-chan'_ became _'Rin-senpai'_. It was all totally weird.

Honoka, Kotori and Umi eventually graduated, and so did Maki, Rin and Hanayo a year later. By then, MakiRinPana was solid; there wasn't a dry eye between the three of them at graduation, and they made efforts to keep in contact via mobile devices. They used to meet up pretty often but life eventually got in the way, much like how it got in the way of Rin visiting the animal shelter. And though the chat group between the three of them remained very much alive, Rin had missed her two best friends. University life was hard, especially when one had to balance both academics and physical training in order to maintain a sports scholarship – and Rin really, _really_ wasn't one for studying.

And things would probably have stayed that way if Rin hadn't decided to take a module on sports medicine late in her first year in order to rake up some credits. It took only a second for chartreuse eyes to zero in on the sole person in the lecture theatre with scarlet hair and even less time to register that familiar face. It didn't take long before Rin bounded over to her friend with a cheerful cry of _"Maki-chaaaaaan~!"_ only to receive a perplexed look in response.

 _"What are you watching, anyway?"_

Rin blinked in the face of the abrupt interruption of her thoughts. By her side, Maki was staring at the screen with an expression that was both bemused and unamused. The med student's textbook remained open on said student's lap, neglected as Maki tried to decipher the silent pantomime on television. Rin was prompted to pay attention to the show as well.

With her head tilted, Rin managed in a halting tone, "A really old cartoon, I guess…"

"Oh. What is it about?" asked Maki, none the wiser about the show. Rin took some time staring at the iconic main character before giving her answer.

"NicoMaki," said Rin with a firm nod of her head.

 ** _"What?!"_**

"Ouch! Maki-chan!" Rin whined as she rubbed at the sore spot on her shoulder where Maki had slapped her. "That hurt, nya!"

Maki, however, was without pity. In fact, Rin thought she might be a little vexed.

"What was that?" the redhead demanded. "I don't get it."

"Well," begin Rin, rolling her shoulder and gesturing at the screen with her uninjured arm, "remember that pink cardigan Nico-chan used to wear all the time? And wasn't Maki-chan the centre for that BiBi song, Cu–"

"Shut up," Maki cut right across.

She had turned to face away from Rin, and her fingers were absent-mindedly twirling at crimson locks. The sight of her made Rin beam; Maki-chan was really cute.

"There, there," chirped Rin, lightly running her fingertips against Maki's scalp.

She could feel the tension slowly leaving Maki's shoulders, and the hair-twirling seemed to have slowed down. It took Rin's all to stop herself from bursting into giggles; yes, Maki-chan really was too cute for her own good. And Rin thought that she might be one of the luckiest persons on earth (besides Nozomi and Honoka, of course) to be privy to Maki's adorable side.

It took Rin a while before she noticed that Maki had stopped playing with her own hair and had moved on to teasing the ends of Rin's. That reminded Rin of when they were reunited back in their first year of university. Confusion had clouded Maki's violet eyes over for a good ten seconds or so before the redhead could recognise that it was Rin standing before her. In fact, Maki's first words to Rin were: _"You grew your hair out."_

And indeed, she had. Rin hasn't had a proper haircut since she graduated high school, if she was honest; she would only ever get a trim once in a while to keep her image neat. It seemed as if Rin had taken a leaf out of Eli's book and had started wearing her hair in a ponytail. As it was, Rin's hair now fell to her shoulder blades, and Maki had taken to playing with those bright orange locks (try as the redhead may to resist).

"Nico noticed it, you know," said Maki out of the blue, pouting as she did. The redhead was determined not to meet Rin's perplexed gaze, so it seemed.

But, no, Rin did not know what Maki was talking about. She chose to respond with a very apt, "Eh?"

Maki wordlessly tilted her head to the side. Her wavy hair was bunched up in her grasp, revealing her slender neck. Even with the girl facing away from her, Rin could tell that Maki was clearly embarrassed from pink tint on the tips of Maki's ears. And once the athlete realised what it was that Maki was showing her, she could feel the heat inching up her own face as well.

"Oh," said Rin lowly. "Does it hurt, nya?"

She hadn't come within an inch of the bruise when her hand was slapped away.

"Don't touch it," hissed Maki. Rin could only blink, stunned for the moment, with her hand still in the air.

"But, no, it doesn't hurt."

"Oh."

After a pause, Rin decided to add, "I'm sorry."

It was quiet for a moment before Maki sighed.

"Don't be," she said. "I'm the one who forgot to cover it up, anyway."

Another silence then followed. Though it went unsaid, they both knew that Maki was just trying to soften the blow in order to spare Rin's feelings. There was no way that the med student would have been able to spot the bruise that was just off the centre of the back of her neck. The athlete-in-training was reminded of the way Maki had fought off and protested against each and every hug that Rin had tried to steal earlier that evening when they've retired to their shared apartment unit. So this was the reason behind it.

They've been dating (officially) for about six months now. The unexpected reunion during their first year did wonders for their friendship. Maki surprised Rin by being incredibly tolerant (by Maki's standards, anyway) towards the athlete's antics; Rin thought Maki might have missed her during their time apart but she was rewarded by a quick chop to the head every time she so much as suggested it. Rin had also matured a little by the time they met up again – but only just a little!

And once the two of them were reunited, the efforts to reach out to Hanayo only increased exponentially. The only problem was that Hanayo was studying a little further away than the two of them, and that transportation was a hassle for the meek girl. Furthermore, it seemed as though Hanayo was free only when Maki's workload skyrocketed. It made Rin kind of sad to have to spend time with her two best friends separately.

Maki suggested that they rent an apartment together when they had to clear out of their dormitories to make room for the incoming freshmen. Not because she wanted to spend more time than was required with Rin, of course; it would just be a convenient arrangement as their two universities were within commuting distance and they would have to spend less on accommodation if they split the rent–

Rin then lunged at Maki for a hug, cooing as she did. That was the easiest way to cut Maki's rant short (according to Rin, anyway).

Now that Rin thought about it, they were sort of dating before they even knew they were dating. Once they've moved in together, Rin would drag Maki out for meals whenever the med student had a break. They would go on movies together; Maki wasn't really one for movies but Rin would beg and beg till Maki agreed to accompany her to the theatres for the latest action/comedy blockbuster. Rin would go so far as to offer to pay for Maki's ticket as a compromise, and Maki would end up treating Rin to dinner because the hyperactive girl would have busted her budget in the process of dragging Maki to the movies.

Anyway, time had taught Rin to tread carefully whenever Maki was embarrassed, and this was as good as any time to be cautious.

She still remembers how awkward it was between them in the weeks before they got together. Maki was the first to realise her feelings for Rin and began pushing her away all of a sudden. Back then, Rin was clueless about everything that was going on between them and had pestered Maki about it. They ended up avoiding each other for days as each girl tried to figure things out. It didn't take too long before Rin cracks and began bugging Maki to talk it out. Tackling the redhead to the ground was actually necessary to get Maki to be honest with herself; the Nishikino girl had been pretty stubborn in maintaining that she doesn't get what Rin was going on about.

So, it is after great deliberation that Rin nudged at the girl curled up against her side, saying: "It could have been worse."

Maki was silent for a moment before agreeing with Rin.

"It could have been Nozomi-chan/Umi who had noticed," the two of them concluded almost simultaneously.

The redhead frowned, her nose crinkling just the slightest bit in the process.

"Why did you say Nozomi?" asked the med student.

Rin's answer consisted of only three words: _washi washi max._ That response was enough to make Maki cringe. After all, Maki had been Nozomi's first victim out of all of _µ_ 's.

"And why Umi-chan, nya?"

"Because that dork is a total prude," Maki supplied. "She can't handle something as scandalous as a love-bite; all of _µ_ 's will find out if she so much as faints."

Rin could only raise an eyebrow at that; she couldn't help but grin at Maki's phrasing. It is an unspoken rule that only the members of Soldier Game Trio were allowed to make such jabs at one another; everyone else pretty much agreed that those three were probably the worst at dealing with _feelings_.

"I like how you say love-bite instead of hickey," Rin couldn't resist pointing out. That only earned her an elbow to the gut and a pout from the Nishikino heiress. Maki was once again avoiding eye contact.

"Hey, now, I was only kidding, nya," Rin tried to appease her girlfriend. She tried to poke at Maki's cheek but the girl had snapped at her finger in response.

"Maki-chaaan," Rin whined. "Please don't be mad at Rin. Rin's sorry, nya. Rin knows she's an idiot for making Maki-chan mad all the time–"

"Yeah, you are an idiot." Ouch.

"But I just might be the bigger idiot between the two of us."

"Wha–?"

It was then that Maki tugged at Rin's shirt, finally bringing their lips together for the first time in hours that day. The kiss was both quick and chaste but it was still enough to draw a goofy smile from Rin – the very same one that she wore when Maki had kissed her for the first time on the day they had gotten together. It has been six months since they've gotten together, and there had been many kisses shared during that time, but Rin swears she still gets love drunk whenever they kiss.

That goofy smile soon turned into a cheeky grin, however. "Maki-chan needs to be more honest with her feelings, nya."

Well, maybe she did deserve the palm strike to the jaw when she tried to lean in for another kiss. That was what she got for dating a _tsundere_ , Rin decided. The orange-haired girl just chuckled to herself as she settled to watch a couple of cat videos on her cell phone now that Maki has switched the television off.

Rin still loves cats but she thinks she might have finally gotten over not having one.

After all, why settle for a cat when she's got her own little panther to deal with?


End file.
